Tower.



J. G. KREER.

TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.12, 1908.

920, 1 57,, Patented May 4, 1909.

JOHN G. KREER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH T. RYERSON & SON, OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A

CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TOWER.

Application filed September 12, 1908.

To all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. Knnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Towers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to towers of the skeleton steel type adapted to the support of wind mills, water tanks, electric transmission wires, etc.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a metal tower of the type referred to that shall combine a maximum of strength and rigidity with a minimum of material, and shall possess a high degree of strength and efIiciency to withstand both vertical stresses due to the superimposed loading, and lateral stresses resulting from the action of the wind thereon and other causes.

My improved tower employs three upwardly converging corner posts or legs with certain novel features of bracing, the legs and braces being formed of light structural steel bars connected in a novel manner, with tierods connecting each leg with the other two legs of the tower between adjacent horizontal braces and anchored thereto by novel means; and, where the tower is designed to support electrical transmission wires, it employs an upper portion specially constructed and adapted for the support of cross-arms which directly carry the wires, said upper portion tapering to a central top or crownpiece with which is associated a clamp designed to support and secure the topmost wire of the series.

The novel features, as well as the uses and advantages of my invention will be readily understood when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating crown-piece and clamp of the tower. Fig. 5

is a top plan view of Fig. 4, with the movable clamp member and clamping bolts removed. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail 1n horizontal sec- Specification of Letters Patent.

Fig. 1 is an enlarged detail m side elevation of the combined;

Patented May 4, 1909.

Serial No. 452,794.

tion on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detail, in elevation, showing the means and manner of connecting the horizontal braces and oblique tie-rods to the legs of the tower. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional detail on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7. Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail in elevation of a portion of one of the legs of the tower, showing a ladder construction. Fig. 10 is a horizontal section on the line 10-1O of Fig. 5).

Referring to the drawing, the main up rights of the tower consist of three upwardly converging legs 12, the lower ends of which are located at the three corners or angles of an equilateral triangle. Each of these logs consists of a tee-bar disposed with its web member projecting inwardly and disposed radially of the axis of the tower. The three legs are connected laterally at suitably spaced intervals by horizontal braces 13 herein shown as consisting of angle-bars, the three braces of each. series being located in a common horizontal plane. In order to make a neat and strong oint between the ends of the braces 13 and the legs 1 the end portions of the former are bent outwardly, as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, so that said bars abut squarely at their ends against the flanges of the tee-bars, and their inner sides lie snugly against the webs of said tee-bars to which they are secured by bolts or rivets 11. Between adjacent series of braces 13, as likewise between the lower series and the foundation, the three legs are further braced by obliquely disposed tie-rods 15. In the preferred arrangement of such tie-rods, as herein shown, two oppositely inclined. rods are employed between the legs on each of the 5 three sides of the tower at each of the sections comprised between adjacent horizontal brace-bars and between the lower horizontal brace-bars and the foundation 1 each of said rods extending between the upper end of one leg portion of each section and the lower end of the other leg portion, so that the two tierods on each side of the tower intersect or cross at about the center of the face of each section. Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate in detail my new and improved manner and means of anchoring the ends of said tie-rods. Reforring to these figures, 16 designates as an ontirety a washer or anchor-plate that is applied to the outer face of each of the legs 12 j at a point directly opposite the connection of 1 the braces 13 thereto. 1

Both ends 01 the '(LllUlLUI'PJ-iH/U 'LLT'U l/lllUlXUllUU, LLB lllLllUuUUkL dill 16 and provided with a pair of apertures therethrough located in alinement with corresponding apertures in the flanges of the teebeams and adapted to receive the threaded ends of the tie-rods 15, which latter are secured therein by nuts 17, by the turning up of which the tie-rods may be tensioned as required. It will also be observed that the two tie-rods that are connected side by side to the same end of each anchor-plate are caused to cross each other just inside the free edge of the web of the tee-bar, this arrangement being preferred as imposing less of a breaking strain upon the apertured portions of the flanges of the tee-bars than where the tierods lead off directly at an angle to each flange.

The tower as thus far described is com plete for the purposes of a light and strong support for such superimposed loads as are represented by water tanks, wind mills, and the like, and may to advantage be employed for these purposes. here the tower is intended to support transmission wires and cables for electric currents, cable-ways, and the like, I superimpose upon the structure thus far described an additional structure well adapted to constitute the immediate supporting and carrying means for such wires and cables. Referring to this latter feature, 18 designates each of three parallel vertical legs that are stepped directly upon the upper ends of the main inclined legs 12 of the tower. The three legs 18 are suitably connected and spaced by oblique angle-bar braces 19, and horizontal braces 20 (Fig. 2). At suitable intervals upon said superimposed tower section are located cross-arms de signed for the direct support of the insulators carrying the wires or cables. Each of these cross-arms is, as herein shown, a trussed member made up of a straighthorizontal channel bar 21 (Fig. 2), a chord member 22, and inclined struts 23. The main bar 21 is secured to the uprights 18 by means of angle-brackets 24 (Fig. 6), one arm of which is strongly riveted to the bar 21, while the other arm is similarly riveted to the outer face of the upright 18. The chord member 22 is riveted at its ends to the crossbar 21 at or near the ends of the latter, and overlies and is riveted to the horizontal braces 20 of the upper tower section, in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 2; the struts 23 connecting the center of the bar 21 with the'angles of the chord member 22 at the points where the latter are secured to the braces 20. This construction affords an ex ceedingly light and strong cross-arm well adapted to withstand not only the weight of the wires but the generally horizontal strains resulting from breaking of the wires on one side of the tower.

The upper end of the top tower section bar sections 25 constituting extensions of the upper ends of the vertical lugs 18 bent to converge upwardly toward a central point coincident with the vertical axis of the tower. The upper ends of these sections 25 are strongly united and secured by a cap or crown-piece, with which may be associated a clamp to secure the uppermost wire 01' cable. This cap or crown-piece comprises a metal casting or forging consisting, as best shown in the dctail views Figs. 1 and 5, of a central block or plate 26 having three outwardly and downwardly inclined arms 27 adapted to be riveted or bolted to the outer faces of the upper ends of the tee-bars 25. On the under side of the central block or plate 26 is a depending circular boss 28, in the lower face of which are formed three radial slots 29, which are designed to receive the upper ends of the webs of the tee-bars 25. In cases where this cap or crown piece is intended to support a wire or cable, I combine therewith a clamp for the latter, the upper face of the block 26, in such cases, being formed with a transverse shallow groove 30 forming a seat for the wire or cable; and a superposed clamp-plate 31 being mounted thereon by bolts 32 passing through said movable clamp-plate 31 and the block 26, as shown, the latter in this case constituting the fixed member of the clamp.

A ladder is simply and conveniently formed by means of horizontal metal rounds 33 passed at one end through apertures in the web of one of the legs 12 alternately from opposite sides of the latter, and secured thereon by nuts 34.

The tower herein shown and described can be cheaply constructed from very light structural steel stock, and yet possesses a high degree of strength and rigidity, while at the same time opposing a minimum of surface to the wind. The employment of teebars for the main supporting uprights affords, so far as I am aware, the most efiicient combination of lightness and strength; while the system of bracing employed most effectively distributes strains received at any point throughout the entire structure of the tower.

I claim:

1. In a triangular steel tower, the combination with tee-beam corner posts disposed with their webs lying radially of the axis of the tower and having their flanges apertured on opposite sides of the web, of oblique tierods connecting said posts across the several sides of the tower, said tie-rods having threaded ends passed through the apertures of said flanges and secured by nuts, and each pair of tie-rods extending from one of said posts to the two others crossing each other inwardly of the web of the post to which they are both attached, substantially as described.

2. A steel skeleton tower for thesupport of Wires, cables and the like, comprising a main tapering steel skeleton structure, and a superposed triangular steel skeleton structure of uniform Width having secured thereto steel a'oss-bars for supporting the wires and cables, substantially as described.

3. A steel skeleton tower for the support of Wires, cables and the like, comprising a main tapering triangular steel skeleton structure,

and a superposed triangular steel skeleton structure of uniform width having secured to and across one side thereof trussed steel cross bars for supporting the wires and cables, substantially as described.

4. A steel skeleton tower for the support of I Wires, cables and the like, comprising a main tapering triangular steel skeleton structure, a superposed triangular steel skeleton strucl ture of uniform Width having secured to and '1 across one side thereof trussed steel crossl bars for supporting the Wires and cables, a l cone-shaped cap or crown-piece surmounting l said superposed structure, anda amp fora l wire or cable at the apeX'of said 06 i crcwn piec, substantially as described.

JOHN G. KREER.

Witnesses SAMUEL N. POND, FREDERICK O. GOODWIN.

al'cap or i 

